Happy Halloween (Almost)...

Please note that I (Kristen) am writing this blog today as Chad is super busy with work, so please forgive the lack of details and medical jargon that you are by now probably used to. :)

The great thing about this week is that while I get to hold Reid, he gets to use high flow nasal cannulas rather than the bubble CPAP. I think he loves this just as much as his mama. As you can see in the pictures it is much less cumbersome and we get to see his face (and able to put cute little pumpkin hats on him)! He does quite well on this apparatus: he maintains his saturation and his oxygen only has to be increased a little, which the respiratory therapists say is to be expected.

I think Dr. Metcalf and the nurses can sense our impatience with the slow progress we have seen over the last few weeks as they keep reminding us of the positive steps that our “little nugget of love” as Aunt Erica likes to call him, is taking. He now weighs a little over 4 lbs. He is retaining quite a bit of water so we’re not sure how accurate this weight is. On top of his Lasix he is now being given two other types of diuretics to help get rid of this water that the steroids are making him retain. He is doing a great job with his feedings and the breast milk is being fortified with two more calories per ounce making it a grand total of 24 calories per ounce. Dr. Metcalf said on Tuesday (with much affection) that Reid is a “slow poke” with his own schedule and that it would be best not to rush him as we don’t want to take any steps backwards at this point.

Yesterday after I finished holding him, Rachel put Reid back in his little bed and he was not a happy camper. She did her best to make him as comfortable as possible by laying him on his tummy with his head facing the right, and for a minute he was satisfied. As soon as she walked out the door though he started crying and wiggling around so I turned around to put my purse in the chair next to him so I could have my hands free to help him get comfy again. In that split second of turning around he had managed to turn his head so that he was facing the left and was as peaceful as could be. I guess he thought that since he couldn’t tell us what he wanted, he would just do it himself and proving once again that yes, he is definitely a feisty and determined little boy!


As long as Reid can handle it, he will continue to use the high flow nasal cannulas while being held and then the next step would be to rotate the CPAP and the cannulas every couple of hours. We will just keep doing what we are doing though until Mr. Reid tells us otherwise.

Sunday will be his last day of steroids so he will finally be able to get rid of his IV and hopefully we will be able to start putting some clothes on this big guy!! I have them all washed and ready to go and can't wait to start dressing him in all of the adorable clothes that our friends and family have given us.

Looking at the blog over the past week or so, I have noticed that it has gotten a little boring. Maybe it is the person who writes the blogs that has gotten a little stale or maybe it's the fact that not much is new in Reid's little world. I guess maybe I need to think of something a little more creative to talk about???

Hmmm... How about Kristen's silly nicknames that she has called Reid??

1. Baby cakes
2. Scuba Reid
3. Cookie Monster
4. My little baby
5. My little kitty
6. Sugar plum
7. Baby cakes

Number 4 and 5 are usually used like, "how's my little baby today" or "look at my little baby". However, she commonly says this to Luna (our cat), so sometimes when we walk into the NICU, "how is my little kitty?" comes out of her mouth. :). I did tell her though, that some of those nicknames will have to stop when we take Reid out in public. If I heard someone say "hey there sugar plum" while at the grocery store, I think I would gag.

So, what else is new? Kristen is still struggling to finish organizing all of Reid's clothes. I don't think we both realized how many items of clothes that kid has and she has washed over 8 loads. The newborn to 3 months and 3 to 6 months has all been hung in the closet or folded and put away in his dresser. The rest of the clothes has been sorted, folded, and put into 2 large bins that she picked up at Target the other day. I honestly think that we can make it a long while before we even start to think about buying new clothes. However, knowing Kristen's obsession with clothes, I have a hard time believing that we will make it more than 2 weeks after he comes home. :)

Last night, I put together his swing that Grandma Hart gave him for his shower. If I had a dollar for ever curse word that came out of my mouth, I would be a rich man. It wouldn't be that difficult to put together if the Chinese manufacturers of these things invested a little money in English-speaking translators and illustrators who could draw something that more closely resembles what I am trying to do. Showing a diagram from the 30,000 foot level of something that requires a magnifying glass to accomplish doesn't help either. I am also realizing that I should start buying stock in Energizer batteries. EVERYTHING takes 20 batteries to operate.

Been a pretty uneventful Saturday so far. We took Kristen's iPhone into the Apple store because she could barely make a call. They gave her a new phone, so we will see if this one works a little better?? We are still undecided with what we are going to do tonight. I wouldn't mind going out, but staying in on this dreary day might not be all that bad either. Some hot soup and some wine may be in order. :). Hopefully we will have better luck with our wine tonight than we did last night as we opened a $60+ bottle of Cakebread Pinot Noir, only to find out that it tasted like vinegar. The cork had some leakage, so we lucked out with a bad bottle. :(

Anyway, not much else is new. Reid is still on bubble CPAP level 5. His oxygen level is 52% at the moment and has unfortunately had some high CO2 readings today. He will most likely be taking a diuretic this evening to help get some of the fluids off his body that the steroids are helping retain. This will reduce the puffiness in his face and also help with his breathing. But for the most part, Reid is stable and hanging in there. Last night, he weighed 3 lbs 9 oz.

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend!!

A quick flight home tonight and came straight to the hospital. Feels good to be back as it was a long couple of days. I counted 13 hours that I was in my hotel room since Tuesday and was at the office until 2am last night. Oh how I have missed Accenture work!!!

Not much is new with Reid. His arterial line came out today, so he is officially a free man - no more IV fluids!!! He still has one IV in his right hand for the various medicines that he gets, but for the most part, his bed has been freed of a cluttered mess of tubes. Because of his freedom, they took the bed scale out and will use the normal scale going forward. He weighs around 3 lbs 9oz.

Bubble CPAP hasn't changed and he fluctuates on his oxygen needs depending on how grumpy and agitated he is. Kristen and I both had lofty goals of getting him off this apparatus this weekend, but we think he still has a while to go. Neither of us have patience, so this is killing us. :)

Anyway, time to head home. It is nearing 11pm and I have yet to eat dinner tonight (I am about to gnaw my arm off I am so hungry). Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight and even more so to the weekend...

Just wanted to get a quick post out there before I board the plane to DC. Sure, I have traveled many times before for work and have left Kristen behind, but today is different. Not only am I am leaving Kristen, but I am now leaving *my family* behind. While the two of them are going to be completely fine for the two short days that I am gone, it just feels strange. I have a larger responsibility now and I feel guilty to leave them behind.

On a different note, while Reid's numbers really haven't changed that much over the past few days, he is turning into a new person. He has left behind his agitated self and has become a wide-eyed little man that smiles at his mom's silly talking. Kristen spent a solid three hours with Reid today and enjoyed every minute of it! I think we have finally left the stressful hospital visits behind and are now able to start that fun bonding process parents usually do right after their babies are born.

His feedings reached his new maximum of 30cc today. In addition, his milk is being fortified to add some additional calories. Pretty soon, we should start seeing a 2 ounce a day gain and a change of scenery as he moves into his crib. He is leaving his tiny little body behind!!!

Well, it is time to get on the plane. Lucky me, I have an exit row and this flight pushes me over the mile threshold for a free round trip ticket to Europe. Now if I just had the time to take the trip...

I know it is time to post a new blog when I start getting bombarded with people asking why there hasn't been any posts in a few days. It was a fairly busy weekend with Kristen's baby shower. The lack of posts may also be due to the fact that there hasn't been a ton of changes for Reid other than the fact that he seems to be a much happier camper and enjoys sucking the heck out of his pacifiers.

His oxygen levels have come down and are hovering around 50%. His CPAP levels have also come down and is currently on level 5. He is now getting blood gas tests every 12 hours and when his CO2 levels come down a little they will start weaning the CPAP even further. Dr. Metcalf hopes to be able to move to the high flow nasal cannula within the next week, but is obviously dependent on Reid's progress. He is getting close to the age where they can start to attempt breast feeding, so they are anxious to get him off the CPAP as well.

Reid had his second eye exam today and Kristen was actually holding him when the doctor performed the exam. Not the nicest thing to watch as they dilate his eyes, put in a metal contraption to keep his eyes open and then a metal probe that makes the eye come to center. The doctor has this funny looking gear on his head (similar to what night vision looks like) and then uses a magnifying glass (on top of the magnification his gear already has) to look at Reid's retinas to check on the tiny blood vessel's growth. Prognosis: eyes are looking good but are still premature. He will have a follow-up exam in about another 2 weeks.

Reid had some good visits over the weekend. Not only was he held by Kristen and me, but his Grandma Elley as well. My mom was just tickled that she was able to hold her grandson!!! When Grandma Hart makes her next visit, Reid will be ready for her to hold his as well.

Not sure of what I think about this whole work thing that starts again tomorrow... I have been able to come and go as I please pretty much all summer and visit Reid when I wanted, so it is going to be a big adjustment for us all. Kristen will have to start visiting during the day by herself and I will have to make my visits during the evening. We will start having a more strict schedule around the house (which might not be a bad thing). No more going to bed at 1am and waking up at 9 in the morning. :)

I head out of town tomorrow night for a quick two day visit to DC and I think Kristen is going to spend the week sorting through all of the wonderful gifts we received over the weekend. In addition, she will be washing and putting away the 2 tons of pass-me-down clothes we have received from the Williams and the Hamer families. Reid will definitely be one of the best dressed kids on the block!!! He has some great clothes to wear when he comes home as well as ones he will need to grow into.

Not much else is new right now, so I will close this post with a big thank you to the Elley's, Williams' and Pagel's for the great baby shower they hosted for us. Also, a big thank you to our friends and family that were able to join!!

I would like to take this time to reintroduce the one, the only...

SCUBA REID



Congratulations and welcome back to the bubble CPAP little man!!!

This morning and early afternoon, the doctors kept weaning Reid off the ventilator and finally got to a point where they were ready to pull him off. When we got to the NICU around 3pm, he was on 100% oxygen, level 7 CPAP and had just had all of his IVs replaced. He wasn't a happy camper, but he had just had a bunch of stuff going on. They had given him some medicine to help his throat feel a little better and to help with the raspiness of his vocals.

It is a GREAT day for the Elley family!!!

Oh, and before I forget, he was weighed again last night and was at 3 lbs 6 oz and is currently feeding at 17cc every 3 hrs with a max of 25cc.

Today tops off a few solid days of progress with Kristen being able to hold Reid for a good 2 hours. His ventilator has been changed so that it is only giving him 15 breaths per minute and is allowing him to take anything over those 15 on his own. Needless to say, he is doing awesome!!! His feedings are up to 13 cc every three hours.

While making steady progress over the past few days, Reid has seemed agitated. He seems to turn bright red at the drop of a hat and for no apparent reason. In fact, it has the doctors and nurses scratching their head as to why. Dr. Metcalf thinks it might be from the steroids that he is on and jokingly called it "roid rage". :)

A little bit of bad news today though... Reid has an "inguinal hernia". Doctors say that about 1 out of every 3 premature males have this problem and will require surgery. We have a little while until it needs to be fixed, but they aparently dont like to operate until they are about 10 pounds. Supposedly it is a very minor "outpatient" surgery to sew up the inguinal canal to prevent the intestines from protruding through the abdomenal wall. A quick Google search defines the issue: "As a male fetus grows and matures during pregnancy, the testicles develop in the abdomen and then move down into the scrotum through an area called the inguinal canal. Shortly after the baby is born, the inguinal canal closes, preventing the testicles from moving back into the abdomen. If this area does not close off completely, a loop of intestine can move into the inguinal canal through the weakened area of the lower abdominal wall, causing a hernia." Ugh. If premature babies had a checklist of everything that could go wrong, Reid is quickly checking things off his list.

Anyway, on a brighter note, I will leave you with a few pictures and videos:

Kristen and I visited for about two hours last night because we were so facinated with watching him attempt to suck on his ET tube and eventually the small pacifier the nurse gave him. I think he went to town on the pacifier for a good 30 or 45 minutes, pressing his hand that was wrapped in gauze up against his mouth as if he were purposefully trying to keep it in. It seems that in the past three days he has learned this sucking thing and it is fun to watch!! If we can remember to bring the camera in, I will try to record a short video.

Reid has his first girl roommate and her name is Barbie. Despite the interesting name, she is a very cute little Hispanic girl. I am trying to teach Reid some pick-up lines in espanol. :)

On the respiratory front, Reid was turned off the nitric oxide around 1:00pm today. He is looking good at the moment and he will have a blood gas test done shortly to see how he is hanging in there. If things look good, his breaths per minute will be dropped down to 20 this evening. And assuming that goes well, he will be switched onto the next mode on the vent tomorrow to even further reduce his dependence on the vent. The end is in sight for this machine, but just talking to the respiratory theripist, she is not in any rush to wean him, "it is up to God and Reid as to when a change is necessitated".

His weight dropped slightly yesterday down to 3 lbs 4 oz. He had a diuretic yesterday that helped clear off some of his fluids he had been retaining.

Anyway, all seems to be well here in rainy Atlanta... Kristen had her six week checkup this morning and all is well. I took the BMW into the dealership and had the wonderful $100 oil change done (even with the $35 off coupon). There may be a few more errands to run, but will most likely be a quiet afternoon (my last Wednesday on vacation).

Another quick update: Reid's nitric oxide is down to 2% with 48% oxygen. If he can maintain this level with saturations in the 90's, they will take the nitric down to 1%. Talking with Dr. Metcalf earlier today, he hopes to hang up the nitric within 24 hours. And once Reid can get down to 20 breaths per minute, they will change the setting on the vent to only give him 20 breaths per minute with no assistance on any other breaths he may take on his own. Right now, if the setting was on 25, Reid would still get the assistance on any breath he takes over 25. I am personally hoping to have him off the vent by the end of the week --- it just all depends on how well Reid hangs in there with less support. However, Dr. Metcalf seems otimistic that Kristen will be able to at least hold him by the end of the week. We are still taking baby steps but he has taken a few "adult steps" this week. As my dad said earlier tonight, "we couldnt' be more proud of Reid"!!! :)

We took homemade chocolate cookies into the NICU today that we baked last night and I think they went over well. We are going to bring in some sugar cookies next week at some point so hopefully more than just one set of doctors and nurses can enjoy. :)

Well, I am going to wrap this entry up. Kristen and I just cracked open a bottle of pinot noir and are cooking the same dinner that Shay and Justin cooked for us on Saturday night. We enjoyed it so much, we had to have it again!!!

Reid had another good night last night. His oxygen levels are down to 35, his breaths per minute are at 26 and his nitric oxide is at 8. Dr. Metcalf is in the NICU today, so we are hoping that there are some further changes with his vent since he is doing so well. Mr. Reid is apparently not enjoying his tube anymore -- even with the versed and morphine. They think that he is finally feeling better now and has the energy to fight having the tube. Anyway, just wanted to get a short update out there. We will be heading to the hospital a little after noon...

A quick update: oxygen levels are down to 44; his nitric oxide is down to 12 with a possible further adjustment at midnight tonight; his breaths per minute are down to 30. He is making fantastic progress, just taking a little bit of time to wean him down in preparation for his CPAP.

Been cleaning the house tonight -- we have an appraisal tomorrow (we are in the process of refinancing our house) and we have Erica and Linda coming in on Thursday for the baby shower. Somehow, Reid's room was the messiest and he doesnt even live here yet. :) My other fun task for the evening was sanding and painting the wooden letters that spell out REID for his room. I wonder how many coats of paint these guys are going to take??? But when you can't find them in the colors you want, you have to take matters into your own hands and do it yourself...

Anyway, bed time for us. Que sueñes con los angelitos. Buenas noches.

Pictures

I realized that I hadn't posted too many pictures lately, but in my defense, it has been a little hard when Reid has been covered up and the room he is in is nearly pitch black. He is a very sensitive little boy, so the nurses do everything in their power to keep it dark and quiet in the room --- lights off, alarm sounds turned down, whispering while in the room (more common to hear squeaky shoes than the voice coming out of the nurses/doctor's mouth), and this sign that has been posted on the curtain that has been pulled right in front of the door:




And here are two other random pictures. His perfect little toes and his mom's giant hand:

Kristen went to the NICU today by herself as I had the cable guy out here for the 4th time in as many weeks. Seems like we can't have the internet up and working for more than 24 hours in the house. Can it be that hard to deliver internet service?!?

Anyway, no first-hand account from me today, so we will have to rely on Kristen's word. Kristen doesn't do well with numbers, so not sure how accurate my blog is going to be today. :) After she left the hospital today, the conversation between her and I started off as, "Reid weighs 3.76 pounds. Well, maybe he weighed 3 lbs and .76 ounces... I don't know." To which I assume that he weighed 3 lbs and 7.6 ounces. I have told her many times (even before we were even pregnant) that she will not be the one that is teaching our kids math. Kristen and numbers just don't mix all too well. :) However, I will not be commenting on my English or grammar skills; she has me beat in that subject!

So... yes, he has put on a little bit of weight since we last reported, but I will assume that some of that is water weight. With his always-in-flux medicine and fluids routine, the poor guy never has a "normal" day. Although, today, his feedings are now back in action. He has been receiving the 2cc every 3 hrs since yesterday and the new orders are to go up 1cc every other feeding. Don't ask Kristen to do the math, but that means that he will go up 4cc every day. :)

What else is new today? Hmmm... his oxygen levels are still hovering around the 50% mark, but they have weaned his nitric oxide (NO) down to 13. From what we understand, the NO is a hard one to wean as Reid will have probably got used to having it. I like to think of it like if you live in a low altitude and you go up to a higher altitude (like Denver), it is harder to breathe. While the oxygen level percentages may be the same, your body has to work harder at getting the same level of oxygen into the blood. While this isn't exactly the same in Ried's case, it is similar -- his lungs will have to work harder because his capillaries and vessels in his lungs aren't as dilated when he comes down or off of the NO (for those respiratory therapists that are out there reading this, sorry if I have gotten that completely wrong).

On a totally different note, Kristen said that Reid was sucking on his ET tube today -- so much so, that she could hear him smacking. He is getting older (32 weeks on Wednesday) and will be soon developing the coordination to suck and swallow simultaneously. This would be great if he would be able to either breast feed or take a bottle, but being on the ventillator and hopefully the-soon-to-be CPAP, he will not be able to. We will have to wait until he is on the high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) before we can even start to think about it...

That is about it for today. I am having a harder time thinking of things to write about, so I guess that means that Reid is a little more stable these days. I am sure ya'll can live with less posts on the blog for a much happier and calmer Elley family. :)

It's been a busy day for Reid today. His arterial line (which measures blood pressure and also where they draw blood from) had all but pulled out and was hanging in by a thread. After a fussy night and not understanding why he was so upset they finally found the line and replaced it. They also pulled the IV off his scalp and placed it into his foot.

Feedings started again today. While small (2cc every 3 hrs), it is food and that makes Mr. Reid happy.

The vent has been adjusted and is giving him 34 breaths per minute (he is taking about twice as many on average). The nitric oxide is now down to 14.

His oxygen levels right now are in the lower 60s as he has had a lot of activity. The activity causes agitation which leads to him needing slight more oxygen. Earlier in the day, he had been down to the upper 40s and lower 50s, so he is still trending in the right direction.

Reid is much more active today and is flailing his arms and legs all over the place. It is a much nicer sight than the sedated look he has had over the previous three days. The nurses have really cut down on the versed and morphine and are not giving it to him on regular intervals anymore - just when he needs it.

Not much else is new. It has been a quiet couple of days for the Elley's, and we have enjoyed our weekend. A trip to South Carolina on Friday, dinner and drinks at Justin and Shay's last night (the best chicken tiki masala we have ever had) and we are heading over to Shannon and Brian's tonight to watch some Bronco's football and hang out.

A lot has happened since my last post, so let me see if I can capture it all:

Yesterday, during our afternoon visit, Reid had a little bit of trouble recovering from his "touch time" where they suctioned his throat, did an Echo, an xray, and moved him. His oxygen saturation had dropped down into the upper sixties and lower seventies while on 100% oxygen. The respiratory therapist then used the hand bag ventilator to manually give him some breaths of oxygen. His saturation shot straight up - so his lungs responded well to conventional ventilation (where the lungs are actually moving in and out). The doctor's theory was that due to the amount of mucus in his lungs (as seen by the collapsed right lung in his xray), the pressure of conventional vent was helping open his airways (something that the oscillator may not be best for). Knowing that the manual efforts worked, they used this information and decided to switch Reid off of the oscillator and back onto the ventilator that he had been on previously. He was doing much better on this and it was touch and go for a few hours as to see if this change was going to work. His required oxygen levels remained in the 90s all of yesterday, so it was a little nerve-wracking to have gone from 70% on the oscillator to 100% and then still hovering in the 90s.

With a little hesitation, Kristen and I headed up to visit my parents in South Carolina (about a 2.5 hr drive away). We were desperate to get out of town since we hadn't really left our 15 mile comfort radius from home in well over 3 months. We needed to have a break from all of the action, but were a little weary after all of the change. Nonetheless, we decided to head out of town. Pat, our nurse yesterday, gave us a little comfort though with the use of her iPhone - text messaging and some picture mail goes a long way. :) I love technology, so knowing that our nurse would use her personal phone to help us out meant the world to us!!

Not much change when we called in last night, but on the the call I made this morning to the NICU, we got a little more comfort:

- oxygen levels are coming back down and were at 83%

- his paralytic medicine hadn't been administered since yesterday afternoon. It will be nice to see Reid moving around again and hopeful that we will be able to see him open his eyes again! It is amazing what a little eye contact with their son can do for a parent. :) He is currently only taking his morphine and his Versed (to calm him down).

- there are doctors orders to start weaning the nitric oxide as soon as his oxygen levels start getting below 80% (another hopeful step in the right direction).

- he had a good diaper - his plumbing is still working. There are no orders yet for the feedings, but we are hopeful that with the change back to the conventional vent and the fact that he is off his paralytic, that the feedings are around the corner.

Kristen and I are going to enjoy a nice breakfast with my parents and make our way back into Atlanta. The news this morning was good news and puts us a little more at ease. Thanks again for the prayers --- they are working!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Reid's oxygen levels have been bumped down to 70%. It is amazing what 24 hours can bring. His steroids must be doing their job. We are hoping for another quiet night tonight and axious to see what tomorrow brings us.

Just got to the hospital and Reid is staying strong. His oxygen is at 89% and his saturation is hovering around 92.

Erica asked today what it was going to take to get him off the oscillator, so some of you may be asking the same question. Number 1, his oxygen levels need to drop to somewhere to the 60 to 70% range. Once this has happened, they can start weaning the pressure on the oscillator. Currently it is at 18 and they need to get this down to 10 to 12. The pressure defines how large his lungs are inflated. Once they put him back on the vent, this pressure defines how much expansion will be made during every breath. A 12 on the oscillator equates to about a 24 on the vent. On the vent, they don't like going much above 24 as it can be traumatic on the lungs to be over-expanded with every breath.

It is going to be very small steps to wean him on the oxygen levels, so I am setting my expectations that there isn't going to be a whole lot of change over the next day or two. As long as we are heading in the right direction, we can breathe a little easier.

On a different note, Reid got his first scalp IV. His IV in his arm wasn't looking to good and was running out of spots for the nurse to place the new one. In addition, they didn't want to have to move him to get a new IV, so it is now on the side of his head towards the back. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but the nurse said he didn't even flench.

He had another xray this morning and there wasn't much change. The upper right portion of his lung is partially collapsed and is most likely due to a mucus plug that is blocking one of his airways. They shifted his body, which will allow the mucus to migrate. They have stopped the CPT in his chest (which helps disolve some of the mucus) as Reid doesn't tollerate it too well. They are going to wait until he is a little more stable before they resume that treatment. All in all, nothing earth-shattering with the xray.

That is about all the news for now... Your prayers are working, so keep them up.

Reid had a good night last night!!! Currently, his oxygen levels have come down to 95% and his saturation is hovering between 91 and 93; his CO2 levels have come down to 35 (really good). At 10:00am this morning, he will undergo his daily xray where he will be flipped onto his back. This whole process is a little traumatic on him, so we are hoping that he handles this well. After he settles in from the flipping and the xray and is able to maintain his saturation, they are planning on moving his oxygen levels down again.

On the feedings front, he hasn't had any breast milk since he started on the oscillator and will continue to receive his lipids and proteins/vitamins through his IV. They are not expecting this to change until he gets back onto the ventilator. With Reid needing his brain, lungs and heart receiving all of the attention, they don't want to have his gut have to do any work that would take away from his necessary organs. On the doctor's list, the gut/stomach is last on the list. No worries though... he is getting all of the nutrition that he needs right now through his IV -- we just wont see him packing on the pounds right now. :)

Anyway... no news is good news and there really isn't that much to report. He is hanging in there!

Kristen and I headed out to dinner tonight to have some time away from the house, the hospital, and life in general. We had a great dinner and some wine - which helped us relax (very much needed).

We got to the NICU aroun 9:45pm tonight to check on Reid. They have dropped his oxygen levels down from 100% to 96% and he was still sat'ing around 90... which is a very good thing. They introduced a new drug tonight, in addition to the morphine and paralytic called Versed that calms him down (think muscle relaxer). This new drug seems to be helping a little bit. His roommate is no longer in the room and gave the room entirely to Reid - this means the nurse is no longer splitting her time with another baby. In addition, the on call doctor (Dr. Lipsom) is actually sleeping at the NICU tonight just in case Reid has any further issues.

The tiny bit of progress tonight gives us hope, but at the same time, we are not going to get over-excited as we know the difference 5 minutes can make. Crossing our fingers that he can make it through the night without any other issues.

Here are a few pictures for the evening:

The nurses chart which has a cheat sheet of orders given by the doctor. You can see the clear rules of when his oxygen levels can come down, when the oscillator pressure can be changed, how often he is to be suctioned and how often he has his CPT done:


My beautiful wife, Reid (somewhere in there), his nitric oxide machine (left) and his oscillator (right):


Reid with his 15 tubes coming out of the oscillator and into his ET:



Close-up of Reid. They like to keep a blanket over his face (keeps light out and I have a feeling the main reason is to prevent us from seeing his eyes stay open in the event that they do open up). This picture obviously cant show it, but his entire body is vibrating:


Bed time for us. Thanks to all for the prayers and continued support.

Another stressful day in the Elley household.

Kristen and I took a long visit to the NICU today to visit our sick liitle man. When we got there, his sats were in the low to mid 90s but slowly drifted down into the 60s. At that point, which was nearing his 4pm touch time, they suctioned his mouth and throat, did CPT, suctioned him again and then flipped him over to his belly. His numbers started going back up again, but only got to 80 before Kristen and I had enough for the day. Dr. Metcalf was quick to point out that with the oscillator, it takes time for the sats to improve. We are used to seeing quick results with the ventilator, but we have to learn to be patient with this new machine. Reid did get his first dose of his steroids today (which he will now get every six hours for the next three weeks). The doctor is hoping to see a gradual change with the addition of the steroids over the next 24 to 48 hours. It is a waiting game for us right now as there isn't much else the doctors can do at this point.

We are going to get through this but Kristen and I are looking to have some quiet time away from emails and phone calls. As you can imagine, our entire day is absorbed with dealing with the situation and we are just wanting a break from some of it right now.

Despite all of the troubles we have in our hands, I have a lot to be thankful for:

- God. He is the one that is going to get Reid through his battles.

- a very supportive and loving cast of family and friends. All of the calls, text messages and emails (while not always answered or returned) mean the world to us

- a phenonmenal set of doctors and nurses who are treating us like family and Reid like their own child.

-Dr. Metcalf who answers my ten million questions and has the patience of a saint. Putting Reid on his prayer list at his own church speaks volumes of who he is.

- Rachel, our favorite nurse, who gives Kristen big hugs and genuine care for Reid. Her cleanliness and her attention to detail tops my list. Thank God for people who are borderline OCD. :)

- Good red wine to help ease the pain.

- oh, and last but definitely not least, my sexy baby momma (Kristen) who is my rock. :) I love you.

We will be heading back to the hospital tonight; any news will be posted on here. Thanks again for all of the continued love and support.